Draft and buffer gear



July 9, 1935..

W. M. DWYEIR DRAFT AND BUFFER GEAR Filed Jly 12, 1955 Y'Patented July '9, 19`35 WilliamM. Dwyer, Chicago, lll., assigner to H.

Miner, Inc.,` Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofV Delaware Application'iuly 12,1933, serial No.` 630,046

7 oiaims. (o1, yais- 9) f This invention relates draft and bulfer gears.-

One object of the 'invention is to provide a simple and eflicient combined draft and buffer l to improvementsv in gear, especially adapted for mine cars, compris ing a buffer cap' movable inwardly toward the car and a draft member movable away from the oar, wherein shock absorbingmeans is employed to cushionboth the draft'and buing shocks, l0 the shock absorbing means being compressed Abetween the buffer capand draft member when a pulling action is applied tothe latter, means being also employed to hold the buffer oapstationary during outward movement of the draft memberof the combined gear, whereby'the buffer Vca'pactsas a fixed abutment for the shock absorbing means.' f Y 1 Y Another vobjeotof the invention isto provide, in vagear of thecharacter described in the preceding paragraph, `s'mpleand efficient meansY for path, thereby'eliminating:binding of the parts ofthe gear. Y

- A more specific object of the inventionjis to 5 cluding a buiiing cap and aV draft'-member, Winch are movable toward and away 4from eachother, andwherein Vthe pulling action is applied to the top of the draft'member; simpleiand eilicient means for accuratelyY guiding the draft member in a' straight-line path andfholding the latter against tilting movement, Ythus eliminating binding of the parts of the gear. Otheruobjects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following. v Y N v V In the drawing, forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a front elevational View of a portion yof one end of a minefcar,` illustrating my tion with thebuffencap partly broken away to morerclearlyA illustrate the internalstructure of the gear. Figurel 2 is a horizontal sectional view,

Figure 1.- And Figures 3 and 4 are vertical sectional views, corresponding respectively to the lines 3 3 and 4--4 of Figure 1, the'coupling pi being shown inside elevationviniFigure 3.

A In said drawing, lvi'ndicates the end sill member of a minef'car, ywhich lcarries myimproved draft andbuer' gear. vMy improved Ygear comprises broadly a support Agfa buffer :cap Bg a draft member C ;V a pair of bufiing springs D'-Dj accuratelyguiding the draft member in a straight provide, Vin a combined draft Aand buffer gear` in# 4improved draft and bufferigear in connection` therewith, the gear being shown ,in end eleva-1 corresponding substantially to the line'2-2 of and `a pair of combined draft and buing springs The support A, which is preferably a casting,

forms ,alhousing for the other parts of the gear.

The support A may be inthe form of a separate member attached to the end sill of the car, or may be formed as` a part of the end sill casting IQ, fas

l illustrated in the drawing. The support A has a vertical rear walll I which, as shown, forms a continuation ofthe casting I0. The'wallll has forwardly .projecting, vertical side flanges IZ-IZ forming the sidewalls ,of the housing A, Yand spaced horizontal top and bottom flanges I3.and

M forminglthe top and bottom walls of said house ing.` The top wall I3 of the housing A has, the midsection thereof upwardly offset, asv clearly shown in Figures v1, 3, and 4, thereby providing spaced side wall4 sections YI5-I5 and a top wall section I6 connecting the upperoends of thetsections, I5,-'I5. Adjacenttothe offset section, the top wall I3 presents spaced `ledges, I'I-II, which provide downwardly facing guide surfaces, which cooperate withthe buffer cap B,4 as hereinafter more fully pointed'out., The central section `of the bottom wall VIl of the housing A is slightly downwardly offset, as shown in Figure 1 andindicated by' I8.I As most Yclearly shown in Figure 4, thebottom wall i4 is .somewhat longer than the top wall I3 ofthe housing A, thereby presenting asupporting shelf on which the buffer cap Bis guided. .At opposite sides of the` housing A, the tobandl bottom wallsare provided with. interior stop shoulders I S-IS and I9"-I9, which serveV to limit the inwardjmovement of the buffer cap B. The bufferrcap B has a rounded vertical front wall 2li, which presents anouter buing face coop'- erating with a similar buffer of the adjacentcar. The cap B also has `spaced vertical sidewalls 2If2l and horizontaltop and bottom walls 22 and'23. The top `wall 22V is somewhat shorter than the wall 2 3, .as clearly shown in Figure 4. The midsection of the inner end portion of the bottom wall 23 is slotted, as indicated at Zllin Y Figure 3,to accommodate theilower end of `the coupling pin, vwhich is indicated by 25. 'Inwardly Vof the front'wall 2i, the buffer cap B is provided with a boXlike section 2S, which has a flat upper Y guide surface 27 serving to support thefront end "portion of the draft member C. vThe guide surface 2l isv depressed with respect tothe', upper surface of the buier cap B, as clearlyshown in v site sides. of-` the housing A extending through openings in the top and bottom walls I3 and I4 of the housing and slots 29--29 in the top and bottom walls 22 and 23 of the buffer cap B. The rivets 28-28 act as stops to limit the outward movement of the buflng cap B.

The draft member C has a follower section 30 at the bottom thereof defined by a vertical rear wall 3|, spaced top and bottom walls 32 and 33, and spaced side walls 134-34; The bottom wall 33 of the follower section 30 is disposed above the bottom wall 23 of the buffer cap B, as shown in Figure 4. The follower section 30 is also provided with a vertically disposed central web 35, which terminates in an enlargement 36 at the forward end adapted to receive the shank of the coupling pin 25. The major portion of the top wall 32 of the follower section 30 is of the width shown in Figure 4. At the center of the follower section 3U, the top wall 32 is extended forwardly to provide a ledge 31, which rests on the guide surface 21 of the buffer cap B, as clearly shown in Figure 3. 'I'he enlargement 36 connects the bottom wall 33 of the follower section 30 to the ledge 31 and serves to brace the latter. The draft member C Yhas a reduced, channel-shaped, central portion 38 extending upwardly from the follower section 39 thereof, theback wall of the channel-shaped portion forming a continuation of the wall 3 I At the upper end, vthedraft memberC Vis provided with a forwardly extending arm :39, through which the coupling pin 25 extends.V The side flanges of the channel-shaped portion 38 form reinforcing webs connectingthe rarm 39, the wall 32, and the back wall of the portion 3B. The usual coupling mem-` ber, which maybe in the form'of a link, is accommodated between the arm 39 and the ledger31 of thedraft member C. The top wall 32 of the follower section 30fof the draftmember C presents ledges I0-40 at opposite sides of the reduced section 38 of the draft member C; the ledges 40-40 cooperating with the ledges I1-I1 of the housing A to accurately guide the draft member-in a true horizontal path.

The vbufflng springs D-D are disposed at opposite sides of the mechanism and have their front and rear ends bearing respectively on the inner side of the-front wall 2IIof the buffer cap B and the wall II of the housingk A.

The combined draft and bumng springs E--E arev disposed between 4the springs D-D and have their opposite ends bearing respectively on the wall 3| of the follower section 30 and the inner side of the front wall 20 of the buffer cap B. The springs E-E are supported on `the .bottom wall 33 of the follower Vsection 30, thusv preventing binding of these springs while being compressed.

, In a buing action, the cap B is forced inwardly toward the end of the car, thereby compressing the springs D-Dagainst the Wall I I of the housing A and `compressing the springs E-E against the follower section 30 of the draft member C, the draft member being `held stationary at this time by engagement with the wall I I of the housing A. Inward movement of the buiiing cap is limited by engagement of the inner ends .of the top and bottom walls 22 and 23 with the stop shoulders I9-I9 and I9-I9 of the housing A.

Whena pulling action is applied to the draft memberC by means Vof a coupling link connected tothe pin 25,`the`draft member is pulled outwardly away from the car, thereby compressing thesprings E-E against the front wall 20 of the buffer cap B, the latter being at this time held stationarybythe stop-acting rivets-28-28. The outward movement of the draft memberis limited by engagement of the front edge of the wall 32 of the follower section 30 with the rear edge of the top wall 22 of the buffer cap B and by engagement of the enlargement 36 of the draft member C with the boxlike section 2G of the buffer cap B. The draft member is accurately guided in a straight-line horizontal path during its reciprocating movement by the interengaging,r guide means of the draft memberC, the housing A, and the buffer cap B, the guide surface 21 of the cap B being practically in the same plane as the guide surfaces of the ledges I1-I1 of the housing A. The ledge 31, together with the top wall 32 of the follower section 30 of `the draft member C, forms in effect a slide which prevents tilting of the draft member C by engagement with the guide ledges I1-I1 of the housing and the guide surface 21 of the buiiing cap B. As the draft member C is prevented from tilting, there is no danger of the same binding between the walls of the housing due to the eccentric pulling action of the coupling link which is connected to the top part of the draftmember.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred mannerfof carrying out my invention, but the same is merely villustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto. Y

I claim:

1.V In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a housing at the end of the car; of a buffer cap slidingly guided with in the housing for movement toward and away from the end of the car, said buffer cap having a flat top surface; a draft .member movable away from the end of the car, said draft member having a horizontal shelf provided` with a depending bracing section, said section and shelf having aligned coupling .pin-receiving openings, the outer end of said shelf being -slidingly guided .on the flat top surface of the buffercap; downwardly facing guide means on the housing engaging the top of said shelf; and shock absorbing'means yieldingly opposing movement of the :buffer cap and draft member.

2. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a housingy at the end of the car; of a buffer cap slidingly guided within said housing for movement toward the end of the car, said cap having a flat top surface; guide means on the housing having downwardly facing, horizontal, guide surfaces, said guide surfaces being disposed above said top surface of the cap; a draft member movable away from the end of the car, said draft member having a vertically disposed follower section, a horizontally disposed plate member forwardly extending from said follower section, a vertical central web belowsaid plate member reinforcing said draft member, and an enlargement at the outer end of ,said web, said enlargement and Iplate member having aligned coupling pin-receiving openings, said plate inember having oppositely facing, guide faces respectively engaging the Aguide surfaces of the buffer cap and housing; and shock absorbing means yieldingly opposing movement of the buffer cap and draft member.

3. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a housing at the end of the car; of a buffer cap slidingly guided in said housing; a guide member on said housing above said cap, said guide member having a horizontal, downwardly facing, guide surface thereon; a draft member, said draft'member slidingly engaging the guide surfaces of the housing; a forwardly projecting ledge on the draft member, said ledge being slidingly supported on the top of the buffer cap; a forwardly extending reinforcement on said follower below said ledge; a forwardly projecting arm on said draft member above said ledge,said

arm and'reinforcementjhaving vertically aligned coupling pin-receiving openings; andshock absorbing means yieldingly opposing movement of .10 s

the buffer cap and draft member.

4. In a combined draft and buffer gear for cars, the combination with a housing at the end of the car,A saidl housingfhaving top and bottom walls and downwardly facing, horizontal guide ledges between said topy and bottom walls; of a draft .member between said top and bottom walls, said draft member having top-and bottom sections and upwardlypfacing guide ledges between said sections engaging the ledges of the housing, said draft member also having a forwardly extending guide shelf having av bottom guide surfacedisposed belowV said guide ledgesra depending boss Y on said shelf; a coupling pin extending through s aid boss and said top section of said draft member; a buffer cap guidedY onV the'bottom wall of the housing, said cap having a top guide surface engaging said guide surface of the shelf; and

shock absorbing means interposed between said buffer cap and the-bottom section of said draft member.`

5. In a combined draft and buffer gear-for cars, the combination with a housing having a bottom wall and horizontal guide ledges above said bottom wall, said ledges having downwardly facing guide surfaces; of a buffer cap below said guide ledges, said cap being slidinglysupported on the bottom wall'of the housing, said cap having an upwardly facing top guide surface; a draft member having a follower section opposed to the buffer cap; a vertically disposed reinforcing boss on said draft member forwardly of said follower section said draft member having upwardly facing guide surfaces engaging the guide ledges',V of the housing;

a forwardly projecting guide arm extending from the top of said boss and forming an integral part of said draft memben'said arm being slidingly supported on the guide surface of the buffer cap; a coupling pin connected to said draft member above the guide surfaces of said member and extending into said boss; and shock absorbing means v interposed between the buffer cap and the follower section of the draft member.

6. In a draft gear for cars, the combination with a housing; of ardraft member having a horizontally disposed guide means thereon in the formy movable inwardly of said housing; a draft member having'a vertically disposed follower section; a horizontally disposed forwardly projecting plate on said follower section, between the top and bottom thereof; a forwardly projecting arm above said plate; a horizontal bottom web below said plate; a vertical reinforcing memberspaced for-` wardly from said follower section connecting said plate and web; a vertical reinforcing web connecting said reinforcing member,V plate, bottom webVY and follower section, said arm, plate and reinforcing member having vertically aligned couplingl pin-receiving openings, and the outer end of said plate being. slidingly supported on said cap; cushioning means opposing relative movement of said cap and draft member, said cushioning means bearing on saidfollower section; and guide means on said housing engaging said plate from above.

WILLIAM M. DWYER. Y 

